HOW TO RECOGNIZE SPAM, SCAM, AND PHISHING?
1- Introduction
The very first version of what would become known as email was invented in 1965 at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) as part of the university's compatible time-sharing system, which allowed users to share files and messages on a central drive, connecting from remote terminals. Even today, emails are one of the most used communication channels in the world. In the area of 5th or even 6th generation attacks, email remains an important starting point. For SMEs, the stakes are high, indeed, it is about ensuring the integrity of the systems, which requires a good understanding of how poorly filtered emails can undermine the entire organization.
2- Cybersecurity and its challenges
Even if the majority of cybercriminal incident reports mainly concern large companies and multinationals, SMEs are not spared. Indeed, nearly 67% of SMEs are affected each year. Since the Internet is a borderless village, any new company connected to the global network automatically registers as a potential victim of a cyberattack. It is therefore a question for the new ones, as well as for the old companies, to protect its internal and external resources. This of course involves personnel, who remain the number 1 vector of attacks. In particular, they will usually fall victim to social engineering, spam and scams that trick them into passing up threats that the system would otherwise have blocked.
3- Recent statistics and impact of cybercrime on SMB companies
As a result of the ignorance of staff and often also the flaws in the system, SMEs, like large companies, pay a heavy price. According to a generally accepted estimate, cybercrime costs the global economy US$ 500 billion, more than the Gross Domestic Product of South Africa ($350.6 billion) and slightly less than that of Nigeria ($521.8 billion), the continent's largest economy. The latter is paying a heavy price for the scourge: according to estimates, cybercrime costs the Nigerian economy US$500 million – about 300 billion CFA francs. In 2011, financial institutions in Kenya, Rwanda, Uganda, Tanzania and Zambia recorded losses of $245 million due to cyber fraud. In 2013, the estimated cost of cybercrime was 26 billion FCFA (about 23 million euros) in Côte d'Ivoire, while in Senegal it was about 15 billion FCFA (22 million euros).
a. Le SPAMMING
These are irrelevant or unsolicited messages sent over the internet, usually to a large number of users, for the purposes of advertising, phishing, spreading malware, etc. Globally, we send about 310 billion emails a day, and not surprisingly, more than half of this traffic would be spam. Strong fortunately, with a little attention spam is easy to recognize. For any message, it is always necessary to:
- Make sure you know and trust the sender before opening an email.
- Check the subject line for the most common spam topics
- Avoid any "call to action" or request for personal information
- Hover over the links in the email to see if they match their intended destination.
- Look for typos, especially phrases or keywords.
- Never open or download attachments without knowing what they are
- Use third-party security sites to test emails and links that still worry you
- See if the message was diverted to the spam folder.
- Never provide personal information, including a username or password, in response to an email or email link
- Change any identical password if you think you have fallen into spam or phishing.
- Forward the email to your IT or technical department if they are involved in your work or work email.
- Delete the email once you have notified the computer or neutralized the threat.
- Keep your email address as private as possible.
Thank you, see you soon for the next step.